Launched! – Blanca 29sep2010

Ballena Blanca launched today! 


 


 


We did decided on a red stripe for the boot-top… here she is a with a little bling last month:



As of last week, I’ve finished painting the topsides, including the transom.  Last weekend, I scrubbed and painted the bottom.  Doesn’t she look imposing with her forbidding black keel?


 


But the big event was today.  Launch day!  Here’s Rick approaching the target with the travel-lift:


She’d been sitting there so long, tree-roots had grown under her keel.  The guys had to chop and dig out a space for the lift straps to pass under:



 


Captain supervised– check the tires as she lifts off the ground.




 


 


Underway!  For the first time in around 20 years.


 


She’s perfectly aligned.  I think Rick’s done this before.  A coupl’a’ times.


 


And she’s floating in the straps!


 


There’s a storm predicted for tomorrow, so Rick’s going to leave her in the lift-slip until it passes.  Then it’ll be off to see if she’ll fit in the slip we’ve picked out.


 The stuffing-boxes (all new packing from last fall) dribbled quite a bit– I tightened them up good and now they don’t leak.  There aren’t any leaks I can find (it was raining so much today the pumps were running from rain-water leaking through the windows!).


Now it’s on to rebuilding the cabin!